Sunday, May 23, 2010

“You’d like to have eye and ear protection?” he asks. Without waiting for a reply, he adds: “Most people do,” before disappearing into his workshop to retrieve ear plugs and safety glasses.

He hands them out and then equips himself with both before applying the petrol-powered leaf blower to the compressor intake bellmouth. A look of concentration turns to a satisfied grin as the machine starts, an escalating high-pitched whine heralding the arrival of turbine speed and boost. A few minutes later, after shutting down the machine and swapping the fuel from petrol to kero, he turns on the second fuel pump, the one that runs the afterburner.

And the need for the ear plugs becomes clear as a superheated roar fills the backyard, the jet blast sweeping away leaves tens of metres distant...."